History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 09Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 09
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
And these were the damages the poor Kaiser had to pay for meddling in
Polish Elections;--for galloping thither in chase of his Shadows. No
such account of broken windows was ever presented to a man before. This
may be considered as the consummation of the Kaiser's Shadow-Hunt; or at
least its igniting and exploding point. His Duel with the Termagant has
at last ended; in total defeat to him on every point. Shadow-Hunt does
not end; though it is now mostly vanished; exploded in fire. Shadow-Hunt
is now gone all to Pragmatic Sanction, as it were: that now is the one
thing left in Nature for a Kaiser; and that he will love, and chase, as
the summary of all things. From this point he steadily goes down, and
at a rapid rate;--getting into disastrous Turk Wars, with as little
preparation for War or Fact as a life-long Hunt of SHADOWS presupposes;
Eugene gone from him, and nothing but Seckendorfs to manage for
him;--and sinks to a low pitch indeed. We will leave him here; shall
hope to see but little more of him.
In the Summer of 1736, in consequence of these arrangements,--which were
completed so far, though difficulties on Pragmatic Sanction and other
points retarded the final signature for many months longer,--the Titular
Majesty Stanislaus girt himself together for departure towards his new
Dominion or Life-rent; quitted Konigsberg; traversed Prussian Poland,
safe this time, "under escort of Lieutenant-General von Katte [our poor
Katte of Custrin's Father] and fifty cuirassiers;" reached Berlin in the
middle of May, under flowerier aspects than usual. He travelled under
the title of "Count" Something, and alighted at the French Ambassador's
in Berlin: but Friedrich Wilhelm treated him like a real Majesty, almost
like a real Brother; had him over to the Palace; rushed out to meet
him there, I forget how many steps beyond the proper limits; and was
hospitality itself and munificence itself;--and, in fact, that night and
all the other nights, "they smoked above thirty pipes together," for one
item. May 21st, 1736, [Forster (i. 227), following loose Pollnitz (ii.
478), dates it 1735: a more considerable error, if looked into, than
is usual in Herr Forster; who is not an ill-informed nor inexact
man;--though, alas, in respect of method (that is to say, want of
visible method, indication, or human arrangement), probably the most
confused of all the Germans!] Ex-Majesty Stanislaus went on his
way again; towards France,--towards Meudon, a quiet Royal House in
France,--till Luneville, Nanci, and their Lorraine Palaces are quite
ready. There, in these latter, he at length does find resting-place,
poor innocent insipid mortal, after such tossings to and fro: and M.
de Voltaire, and others of mark, having sometimes enlivened the insipid
Court there, Titular King Stanislaus has still a kind of remembrance
among mankind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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